ASIDEM users attend an assisted bathing session for people with reduced mobility on the new electric bus in Islantilla

The sustainable vehicle has been acquired by the Commonwealth through the European NextGenerationEU funds of the 'Between Green and Blue' Sustainability Plan‘

A group of users from the Isleña Association for the Defense of People with Disabilities (ASIDEM) participated today in a day of coexistence at Islantilla Beach in which they were able to use the Assisted Bathing service that is offered every summer by the Mancomunidad that manages this tourist enclave shared by the Municipalities of Isla Cristina and Lepe.

The program started at 10:30 at the Isla Cristina Bus Station, where the participants in this day were picked up by the new electric bus acquired by the Islantilla Association of Municipalities through the Tourism Sustainability Plan in Destinations (PSTD) 'Between green and blue', financed by the European Union with NextGenerationEU Funds.

The vehicle, with a capacity for 21 passengers, thus begins its journey in service to the Commonwealth of Islantilla with the initial objective of carrying out discretionary tourist tours with organized groups, gradually extending its departures and consolidating its use as an alternative sustainable transport that helps reduce private car traffic and thus allows for improved management of parking areas at the destination.

After a short tour of Isla Cristina and Islantilla, ASIDEM users disembarked at Plaza Manuel Camacho to complete the final leg of the journey on foot to the Central Lifeguard and Rescue Post, where they were offered the aforementioned assisted bathing service, which will begin operating regularly for all bathers from July 1st to August 31st, under the care of a team of professional assistants.

This special day was attended by the Executive Vice President of the Islantilla Commonwealth and First Deputy Mayor of Isla Cristina, Francisco Zamudio, who expressed his satisfaction "at finally being able to launch this new environmentally friendly means of transport, and what better way to do so than with a group that is among the priorities of our administration: accessibility as one of the foundations of the Islantilla destination, which since its beginnings more than 35 years ago has taken into account people with disabilities in each of its projects.".

For her part, the Deputy Mayor delegated by the Lepe City Council to the Commonwealth, Mariana Otero, wanted to join in the exceptional nature of this day, celebrating that "today we can bring Islantilla closer to this group of islanders, just as tomorrow we will do with similar groups of Lepe residents, betting on inclusion and on making our destination a place of enjoyment for everyone.".

The President of ASIDEM, Manuela Pardo, thanked “the Islantilla Association of Municipalities for once again remembering this association and facilitating the organization of a day like today,” and highlighted the fact that “when designing a service like the Islantilla electric bus, it was taken into account that this vehicle had to be accessible and adapted to people in wheelchairs.”.

The launch of the new electric vehicle in Islantilla represents the execution of an action included in the Action of Axis 2 (Improvement of Energy Efficiency) of the aforementioned Tourism Sustainability Plan in Destination 'Between Green and Blue', and has involved an investment of 371,918.91 euros out of the total of 2,589,440 euros that have been financed with funds from the European Union, an economic injection channeled through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism of the Government of Spain, and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía.

From this moment on, the maintenance of this service and its adaptation to the needs of the destination will be assumed by the Commonwealth using its own funds, for which it is preparing a mobility plan in which this new vehicle is an essential part, since, among other purposes, it will serve to facilitate the access of the workers of the different hotel establishments, shops and Administration offices to the lower area of Islantilla without the need to park in the vicinity of the beach.

After the assisted bath, the ASIDEM users participated in a lunch organized at the Ilunion Islantilla Hotel, a prime example of accessibility and the first hotel in Spain adapted to people with disabilities when it opened its doors in 1991 within the network of hotel establishments belonging to the ONCE Group.